


For All Time

by kichihoshi



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: First Meetings, M/M, Shinobi AU, Tragedy, foolish lovers, ninja duels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26123050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kichihoshi/pseuds/kichihoshi
Summary: Oh, how one does love foolishly.In truth, they could run away. However, they will carry the guilt of a thousand lives forever. Vil was not going to let his grandmother pay for the sins of his love. He knew Malleus would not go on the offensive, and decided to take matters into his own hands.
Relationships: Malleus Draconia/Vil Schoenheit
Kudos: 11





	For All Time

The flower blooms black, but Malleus knows the color of blood smears across the armor. It goes unnoticed against the light of day, scattering invisibly on the surface, but he _knows_.

He feels the warmth of life in his fingertips, how it flows through his hands, staining his ivory flesh not with their aggression, but rather meekness, in which something surrenders; and his pupils quake, realizing what’s happening.

Vil plunges deeper, giving out a repressed grunt. No, he doesn’t want anyone to hear how agonizing it is to be driven through against the heart; never, _never_ in front of anyone, especially not Malleus.

“You… fool.”

Who said it? Vil doesn’t recognize if it was his voice, or the ninja’s standing before him in shock. How hard he’s holding onto his wrist, determined not to let the other pull back.

So it comes to this.

The two greatest ninjas from two glorious tribes, standing on the edge of a cliff.

Blood starts to pool around Vil’s feet and he laughs.

Malleus remembers the first time he’s heard it. Somewhere in the forest, in the borders between Tsubagakure and Manjidani, there is a river that flows towards a waterfall, bringing the current fast and sharp. It was dangerous.

But danger is only child’s play for a ninja of Vil’s caliber. That time, he took it upon himself to swim against the current -- training--, because while he was the absolute pride of his grandmother, having been the best herbalist in their clan, he knew it would be not enough.

His seat in the village had been prepared for him since he was born, and he was the darling of everyone’s eyes. To live up to that expectation, he realized he should become more than just concoctions and poultice. He would _become_ poison itself.

He was fed poison all his life and built resistance from it. And while he may not be vulnerable to the most surreptitious of weapons, he was still human, made of flesh and bones, and with a tendency to die.

Unlike him, Malleus was born from the absence of time’s constraints.

He had been alive for as long as he can remember, which earned him quite a reputation in their village. His parents were mortals, leaving the world before him. He had seen their clan grow in the sun, had seen it destroyed by calamity, had witnessed it being seized by feudal lords, and had seen the rebellion his own men had staged upon him.

He’s seen _everything_.

But it was the first time he’d seen a man emerge from the river, back as silky as a pearl. Most of his inner circle had unquestionable loyalty, but he had done everything alone. He had eaten alone, bathed alone, trained alone.

To see a man’s body untainted by either scars or bruises, it was almost holy.

Curiosity got the best of him. Why, of all people, would a silly little human be on the borders of two warring shinobi clans? _Unless he was of Tsubagakure..._

Before Malleus can turn the other way, a sharp blade cuts through the air, planting itself on the bamboo shoot inches away from his face.

The leaves shake, and he immediately tumbles off the giant rock, just right before Vil can land a powerful kick on the ground where the spectator used to stand.

It was but a minute laugh, somewhat almost a grunt, but Malleus’ ears are tickled with the echo of a long-gone sound.

“I saw you.” Vil calls, particularly to no one. 

Malleus, already high above the trees looks down at the person below. How golden his hair, like a sun setting into the forest.

“Come out! I know you’re from Manjidani.”

The ninja from a rival tribe continues to take cautious steps, hands curled over his kunai. He twists his head at every direction, swinging his body, ready in case of a surprise attack.

Malleus smiles to himself. How silly this man is, looking for an enemy where there is none. Not that he wasn’t an “enemy”, but because this man, this ninja from Iga, will never find him. After all, his unusual biology has granted him a number of abilities, flight included.

That’s what he thought.

This amusement is cut short by a needle-like kunai, almost hitting him below the chin.

A sweat from Malleus’ forehead drops as he concentrates on stopping the object before the tip could scratch his skin. These, he knew, were laced with poison.

“Found you!”

 _Impressive_. It was one thing to see him from a distance, and another thing to figure out where he was hiding. This clan was hiding such a gem of a ninja? He ought to be careful. Not that he was afraid of all this turning into something he would not get out unscathed, but it could escalate into something as unnecessary as a clan war. That, he hoped to avoid.

“I know who you are. You’re the one they call Malleus.”

How infamous he has become. Surely, one look at him and people would know, what more if he flies right above another person, stopping his attacks with nothing but air.

The blond reaches out a hand towards the tree, pressing his palm flat against the surface.

“What’s the great leader of Kouga Manjidani doing here?”

Malleus looks down. “I was only passing by. There’s no need to take offense.”

As he says so, he motions his index finger down, and the needle-like kunai drops swiftly below, hitting the ground just a few centimeters away from Vil’s feet.

Malleus narrows his eyes, seeing that this man has no fear, not even quaking after he shot the weapon back haphazardly.

“For someone who’s only passing by, you’re also defensive.”

“If you would so kindly leave…” Malleus reaches out for a ripe apple from the tree, “...Then I shall too.”

From his height, he lets the apple slip from his fingers. The fruit falls as gravity commands, but to stop is given a variable. Perhaps it will crash to the ground, its tender skin bruised by the impact of its own fall, perhaps the soft earth will be kind to salvage it, letting it roll on the ground without a scratch…

 _Perhaps_.

But the reality is an apple falling from the tree, and landing four feet above the ground. 

“I ought to.” A smile graces Vil’s lips. “I had enough training for one day.”

If there’s something that surprises him, it’s how his hands come together, palms towards the heavens, as if to receive a blessing from the skies.

With an apple in hand, Vil takes a few steps back, never turning around, and Malleus descends slowly until his feet are back on earth.

It was the first of many secret meetings.

How odd that these memories would come to him at a time like this.

Then reality takes him back to the edge of the cliff; his sharp claws digging into Vil’s chest; that no matter how much he withdraws, Vil dives into him more, plunging himself deeper into Malleus’ hands. He has not realized Vil had this kind of strength.

“How could you?” Malleus covers Vil’s chest with his other hand, as if it can do anything to stop the bleeding.

“I won’t...let them... use Tsubagakure…anymore.” 

Missives were given, and the game of the shogun started a few days ago. A team of five from each village will seek each other out in a fight to the death. Now, there were only two left.

Vil, the future leader of Iga Tsubagakure; Malleus, the current leader of Kouga Manjidani.

This is a battle to determine who sits on the throne of nobles, a duel at the expense of the lives of the shinobi. If they refuse, their villages will be burnt to the ground. What’s left of the ninja will spiral into extinction. How great their numbers have dwindled already, and the prestige the identity they carried as people of shadows have long been tagged inessential in a budding modern era.

In truth, they could run away. However, they will carry the guilt of a thousand lives forever. Vil was not going to let his grandmother pay for the sins of his love. He knew Malleus would not go on the offensive, and decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Iga has my grandmother… Without you, Kouga will…”

“That is not for you to decide!”

With a desperate sweep of Vil’s head, Malleus dives in to take his lips.

A kiss that tastes of death, something he had yearned for in his ridiculously long life. In all the times they spent together, it was their first. How he thought it would be honey, a flight of butterflies, and spring calling; but instead, it is of bitter truth, of fleeting time, inching its way into every vein.

Vil pushes him away, teary-eyed. The force makes him stagger, and he falls to the ground, never looking away.

How could this happen? When all the time he had kept himself from doing so. No matter how the cold night bit into him after Malleus’ confession, how his hands showered him with love, no matter how the ache in his heart burned of temptation, he was always, always careful. 

For Malleus, it was equally maddening. He knew what would happen the moment they kiss; he was prepared a long time ago. The only thing stopping him was Vil, Vil who has many years ahead of him, who will grow with age, who will pass seasons and change. He wanted to see what Vil will become.

But their future hangs on a thread, and the thread finally snaps.

Malleus’ pale face is now discolored, every vein turning black and branching out down to his neck. His legs lose strength, and he joins his lover on the ground with a satisfied grin. The poison eats into his body like a parasite. This is how you kill an immortal being.

Vil’s tears mix with the blood on his face, and he reaches out a hand.

“Malleus…”

Malleus tries his best to move closer, his own hand stretched to catch Vil’s fingers.

“You’ll see the day, my love.” Malleus says in between groans. “Many days, like the ones we shared.”

“Not without you, no…”

Perhaps it was a punishment that Vil survived, but finally, the monster from Manjidani is no more, and the Iga clan leader’s reputation is most feared, even by the shogun.

But most nights, Vil sits by the river, watching the fireflies glow brighter than the moonlight. They remind him of Malleus’ eyes, how they flicker for a second, and then for all time.

  
  
  
  



End file.
